Codex Interview Wasteland 2 RPG Codex Interview with Brian Fargo - Part 1

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Something bugs me.

https://twitter.com/#!/BrianFargo

Barely over 1000 followers. Pretty big sites like RPS have given him the limelight right? I'm kind of getting the impression he isn't kicking up the enthusiasm one could expect from someone hoping for a $1M crowdfunding campaign.

I could be wrong. The number of Twitter followers isn't the most reliable measurement of popularity, but 1000 followers still seems like a very small number.

Yeah, I don't see the project gaining the funding it needs either.

If those pictures are real, thank god it's dead.

Neither do I. Double Fine news is getting far more attention from gamers than Wasteland news, even on sites like RPS. I guess this might have something to do with Wasteland's Kickstarter not having actually started yet, but I can still see a huge difference in interest.

Well he has to make that a priority. There's absolutely no chance he'll get funding if he doesn't emphasise the Fallout connection.

I think Obsidian has a better chance of getting funding since Chris Avellone seems to have a fair bit of rep on the internet (he's done heaps of interviews, him and Sawyer are always will to address issues that fans might have, he has like 5000+ followers on twitter and actively donates to things like Desert Bus for Hope and the Nuka Break series) but I wouldn't rule out Fargo not getting the funding for Wasteland 2.

The lack of followers is probably cause until now Fargo has been a bit of an unknown on the net compared to other game developers like Sawyer, Schafer or Avellone.

Maybe Obsidian will surprise us and jump in. These are crazy times, everything is possible.
I don't expect it to get much funding either, but I definitely hope to be proven wrong! I think they ought to be able to get at least 300,000$ if all the old RPG fans mobilize. There's more of them than you might think, slaving away in some IT job and growing scraggly beards as they maintain servers or set up networks.

I honestly think I have a good point. There's tons of geeks and nerds that are now running the backbone of many offices and companies that grew up on these games and I am sure they are more than willing to shell out a couple of bucks. Geeks don't spend money much on other things, other than soda and cats and snacks.

Hey by the way while we're at it, I think I recall reading that the original Wasteland had permadeath, is this true? I know that you can reload from the start of a dungeon, but can you always do it or are your saves affected by something else?

Another vaporware to look forward, neat.

I agree, but I still think they can manage to collect enough money. After all, Avellone will probably chip in half his savings and he will definitely promote it.

Oh, so it's a remake of Doom 2. More warehouses, factories, offices and sewers.
HELL, HELL IS WHAT THIS GAME NEEDS YOU FFFEGGETS. Red skies, red lava, red torches with skulls, NOT another pile of concrete and metal. FFFFUCK.

- cool

I think it will raise the money. It's too early, the Kickstarter page isn't up yet. As soon as it is, most big gaming sites will report it.

InXile doesn't need the money DF ended up raising (nor does DF, in fact). It's really a question on whether or not enough fans are willing to put up more than the minimum, in my opinion. Very hard to predict, certainly wouldn't say anything "for sure".

Film will be pretty funny, based on the script. Lots of poking fun.

Obsidian is not going to jump in. It'd be nice of them to show some support, though, and I kind of expect em to, since MCA already did.

That is well below the minimum. If they raise only 300,000, by Kickstarter's system, they'll get nothing.

Well I don't think they should set their donating aim too high. Double Fine got more than 2 million, but the official goal was 400k, and I think that was part of their success. I think people will be far less willing to back the project if the pledging goal says "GIVE US 1 MILLION DOLLARS"

They should make the game project rather humble in scope and expand upon it depending on the amount of money they actually will be able to raise.

I think there are far more fans of LucasArts adventure games than of hardcore RPG's. But who knows?

They should lie to people about what they can do with what budget? Fallout cost $3-5 million to make. This game can not be made for less than $1 million. What would be the point of lying about that and then being unable to make it? If people won't group up to raise $1 million, then this isn't a viable project.

I didn't say they should lie. That's why I said they should reduce the scope of the game and expand on it if they raise more money. Anyways, you're much better informed than I am, I wasn't aware that 1 million is the minimum amount of money they need to produce it.
To be honest, I'll be surprised if they get more than half of it. I'm still donating and corssing my fingers, but it won't work out propably. Double Fine raised 2 millions sure, but that doesn't mean that every game dev who promises to produce a hardcore RPG will get even nearly as much.

Tim Schafer and Ron Gilbert are legends, and at least Schafer has a solid reputation of making fun games even today. Brian Fargo, not so much. Hell, I bet there are many people around who are fans of classic RPGs yet don't really know who Fargo is.

Why do they need more than twice for their game than Double Fine? Are adventures really that much cheaper to make? Or maybe Fargos project is just too ambitious? I don't know, but somehow this looks like a doomed endeavour to me.

Point-and-click adventure games are pretty much the cheapest genre to create. RPGs are one of the most expensive, unless you make them linear, boring shit. I guess Fargo could make a linear, no-choice-and-consequence Wasteland for 400K.

Or cut down the production values? Anyways, I am very ignorant when it comes to production costs of games, so I'm not gonna argue with you. You're propably right.

My conclusion is that this kind of game and kickstarter funding don't seem to fit really. They have my money for sure, but I won't get my hopes up.

Dunno, I'd ask for the sum I think I'd need to make the game I want.
If I can't raise that, well, as BN says, then the project isn't viable.
If I raise more I can always find some bells and whistles to add/improve.
The problem, as far as I'm concerned, is how realistic the cost prognosis is. Devs very often need additional money once they're far into the project. I'd be worried about them running out of money before the project is finished...

What I do not understand is why the sum that needs raising should affect the donation willingness. Whether I donate 50 bucks to a project that wants to raise 1 million or a project that wants to raise 10 million is quite immaterial to me, as long as I get the money back if they fail to raise the sum or get the game I wanted if they do manage to raise the sum.

I think Fargo has a pretty good idea on what he needs, time-and-budget wise, he's not exactly new to the game. Also, from the way he talks about it, he'd probably just finance any emergency costs/delays out of his own pocket. He can't self-fund this game, but he sounds very willing to put up some extra cash if needed. And not getting paid himself. He really, really wants to do this.

And yeah, I don't see why the sum should affect it, not with Kickstarter. I mean, if you think the goal is unrealistic, why not still pledge, and if it really is unrealistic, you're not losing a cent. Besides, Kickstarter has been really booming on these large projects lately. I think friggin' Order of the Stick raised a million on it, c'mon.

Still, I expect a lot of negative responses when people see the minimum on Kickstarter.

I think it was a million and a quarter, by the end - just to reprint one of their collected editions. They'll only have needed an absolute fraction of that. Insane.

I really wish I could believe that, but I'd have to see it with my own eyes. If Fargo's Kickstarter manages to raise the money, I'd consider it a step in the right direction.